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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. fork — in a road
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. track — to keep track
  5. pop — music
  6. track — a song
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. land — a country
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. march — music
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — soda
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. capital — money
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. capital — a city
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. track — a path
  24. land — ground

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com